Maine Primary Care Association Announces Winners of the 2018 Clinical and Administrative Excellence Awards
Bar Harbor, ME – Oct. 24, 2018 – The Maine Primary Care Association (MPCA), a membership organization representing the collective voices of Maine’s Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), is pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 Clinical and Administrative Excellence Awards which were presented today at a ceremony during the organization’s annual conference in Bar Harbor. The Clinical and Administrative Excellence Awards were created in 2005 to honor the contributions and accomplishments of individuals and health center advocates working to ensure that affordable, high quality health care is available to all Mainers.
This year, MPCA recognized twelve individuals for their leadership, dedication and support of Maine’s Community Health Centers. The 2018 award winners are as follows:
- Blue Heron Award – In Memory of Karen Bronk, DFD Russell Medical Centers
- MPCA President’s Award – Lisa Miller, MPH & Roy Miller, MD
- Behavioral Health Excellence Award – Jennifer Moss, LCSW, PCHC
- Clinical Support Excellence Award – Santana Eastman, RN, Sacopee Valley Health Center
- Excellence in Oral Health Award (Co-recipient) – Lucien JB Daigle, DMD, Fish River Rural Health
- Excellence in Oral Health Award (Co-recipient) – David Levasseur, BSc, DDS, Pines Women’s & Children’s Health Center
- Nurse Practitioner Excellence Award – Lindsay Norton, FNP, HOMETOWN Health Center
- Physician Assistant Excellence Award – Amelia Hersey, PA-C, PCHC
- Carol Eckert, MD Memorial Award – Patricia Doyle, MD, PCHC
- Unsung Hero Award – Colleen Coates, Sacopee Valley Health Center
- MPCA Staff Recognition Award – Ashley Mills, MHA, Maine Primary Care Association
Darcy Shargo, CEO, Maine Primary Care Association, said, “Maine’s Community Health Center staff are an extraordinary group of health care super heroes; dedicated professionals, working tirelessly to promote the health and well-being all Maine people. Today, we come together to celebrate a select group of individuals who continue to distinguish themselves for their noted accomplishments and compassionate care.”
Maine Primary Care Association to Serve as Co-Creator of National Learning and Action Collaborative for Health Care Reform and Population Health Improvement
Organization to partner with its statewide behavioral health counterpart, the Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services, to bring much needed primary care and behavioral health resources to providers in all 16 Maine counties
Augusta, ME – May 23, 2018 – The Maine Primary Care Association (MPCA), a membership organization representing the collective voices of Maine’s Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), announced today that it has been selected to serve as a co-creator of the new Delta Center for a Thriving Safety Net national learning and action collaborative. Designed to generate breakthroughs in health care reform and payment and identify sustainable ways to care for individuals and improve population health, this new collaborative will play an instrumental role in helping shape and respond to policy change and opportunities in the health care safety net. As a co-creator and collaborative participant, MPCA will work in partnership with its statewide behavioral health counterpart, the Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services (AAMHS), to promote greater access for Maine providers to national experts, technical assistance and other resources pertaining to primary care and behavioral health that might otherwise not be readily available or affordable.
The Delta Center for a Thriving Safety Net is a groundbreaking national effort, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to push for progress toward primary care/behavioral health integration and value-based payment models over the next two years. Following a national review process, the Delta Center selected six primary care associations and five behavioral health statewide associations to join this effort. Maine is the only New England state represented in the collaborative.
Commenting on MPCA’s participation in this new collaborative, Maine Primary Care Association CEO, Darcy Shargo said, “MPCA is thrilled to be a part of this important initiative. Maine benefits from unique opportunities to be on the leading edge of innovation. With a smaller population and fewer instances of overlapping or competing resources, Maine has a manageable scope for innovation and scaling beyond what is possible in major urban areas. Solutions crafted in Maine are more likely to be simple, replicable and potentially transformative for all involved.”
MPCA will receive $240,000 over two years from the Delta Center to cover travel to in-person meetings, conduct training and technical assistance for MPCA and AAMHS members, shape policy initiatives, lead advocacy efforts and help develop models for replication in states across the nation. A core team of leadership and program staff from MPCA and AAMHS will travel to Denver in June for a national kick-off meeting.